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User blog:Lordkenyon/Character Profile: Nahlgaaf
I've expanded the initial character description for this character profile, and revised what my focus is in the Origin/Discussion section. Enjoy, and if there are anything about the character you think was not covered, let me know so I can continue to improve the Profiles. Previous Profile: Kjalek Name: Nahlgaaf(alias) Race: Nord? Age: 23(first appearance) Status: Retired Weapons: dagger, pyromancy, thu’um, ugly and worn longsword Armor: worn and stained green robes, reminiscent of those worn by the graybeards. He wears a rusty chainmail vest over the robes. Lower half of a broken dragon priest mask, wears it like a mask. Under the robes Nahlgaaf wears black leather armor, and is wrapped in strips of black cloth. Other Items: Sheaf of papers stored in pockets within his robes. The papers include plans, lists of contacts, theoretical writing on the arcane, notes, and personal musings. Appearance, Traits, Etc: Nahlgaaf’s entire body is a network of horrible burn scarring. He has green eyes, flecked with gold and beautiful auburn hair. His voice is a soft whisper, and when he speaks louder it becomes whistling and raspy, thick with pain. Story: Nahlgaaf had the misfortune to be born in the last village to fall to Kjalek’s onslaught. He was able to escape when Kjalek’s soldiers realized they were killing innocents and mutinied. He and other survivors joined the stormcloaks but quickly deserted, heading to Morrowind. They learned that Kjalek had fled to High Rock with something of great value to one of the Camonna Tong’s leaders. In High Rock they discovered Kjalek had become a farmer, a friendly neighbor, and a father. They lured him away, and did what the reformed warrior had done to them. All but Nahlgaaf died when they finally faced Kjalek beneath Mist-Fyrd. Nahlgaaf was left screaming in an inferno. The oil burned out, and Nahlgaaf slowly realized he was still alive. He knew a weak healing spell and used it, but to no great effect. Days passed, and he began to hear a faint whispering. Each day he cast his healing spell, and dragged himself closer to the whispers, until one day he looked up and saw a wall scriven in words whose letters he couldn’t comprehend. The whispers sung softly in a tongue long forgotten. When Nahlgaaf emerged from Mist-Fyrd, he was a ruined shell, housing only a vengeance that burned with the fires that had taken all else from him. He took a new name, one in the old tongue learned deep within Mist-Fyrd. He went to the Graybeards, seeking a place in their order, and demonstrated what he learned from the edge of death and the beginning of madness. The Graybeards wisely denied him. Nahlgaaf learned more of thu’um on his own and mastered pyromancy. He created a network with agents spread across Tamriel. When Kjalek slipped through Nahlgaaf’s web, Nahlgaaf turned it to profit, becoming the de facto owner of many ventures on both sides of the law. Kjalek reappeared, and Nahlgaaf headed to the Imperial City, but arrived days after Kjalek had fled. Then the Cammona Tong moved against Nahlgaaf’s network, which disintegrated quickly under the sudden pressure. Nahlgaaf had almost enough coin to enact his plan, but without his network he had no way of acquiring more. He joined a group as a mercenary, and encountered Kjalek. The two fought, but were forced into a truce by their allies. Nahlgaaf tried to kill Kjalek, but failed. After the climactic battle at Imperial City, Nahlgaaf was foiled but not fooled when Kjalek faked his death. Nahlgaaf took his reward money, and used it to hire mercenaries, among them a young breton named Breldon. Nahlgaaf launched his hunt against Kjalek. They battled once more at Mist-Fyrd, and Nahlgaaf sealed his sellswords and Kjalek in the ruin as it collapsed. He fled, returning hours later to learn that Breldon and the sellswords had escaped. Nahlgaaf fell into a fury, certain that Kjalek had as well. He attacked Breldon, and the pacifistic healer seemed doomed. Yet he defeated Nahlgaaf, wresting away his sword and severing his arm at the elbow. Nahlgaaf awoke in a nearby village weeks later. Weak from blood loss, Nahlgaaf returned to Mist-Fyrd, followed by the worried villagers. Within the remnants of the collapsed ruins Nahlgaaf found Kjalek’s helmet, smashed and twisted and covered in dried blood. Nahlgaaf fainted, silently crying as he slipped away from consciousness. Kjalek was certainly dead, and Nahlgaaf felt empty and lost. His condition worsened. One day he awoke, and there was no one attending him. He heard raised voices, sobbing, people pleading. Nahlgaaf rose from his bed, and staggered to the door. Bandits had seized the village, and were demanding gold the villagers didn’t have. The villagers were to be killed until they paid up. Nahlgaaf’s Voice filled his ruined lungs. The thu’um propelled him into a bandit, who died as Nahlgaaf unleashed a surge of fire. Nahlgaaf seized the bandit’s axe, and threw down another with his Voice. The axe found itself buried in the heart of a foe, and then bandits were fleeing or dying or dead. Nahlgaaf collapsed, spattered in blood and dusted in ash. When he awoke again the villagers were crowded around his bedside, thankful yet terrified. As he recovered, Nahlgaaf began to direct his arcane skill towards restoration, and eventually became the village’s healer. He became a kind and caring man, and despite his disfiguring burns he found love. He found peace and happiness. He forgave his enemies, and abandoned his hatred. Origins/Development of the Character: Nahlgaaf existed in some form or another in many earlier version of Kjalek’s backstory. He shares a few traits with earlier Kjalek designs, such as a duel in a crypt leading to burns and small knowledge of the thu’um. Nahlgaaf is meant to be a character you initially empathize with in his battle against Kjalek, but begin to become horrified with as you see what he has done and what he is willing to do to get his revenge. At the same time you are intended to begin empathizing with Kjalek, who has spent much of his life trying to atone for what he has done and wants to start anew. The intention is that you see them both for what they truly are. Kjalek is a man who has done horrible things and refuses to accept responsibility for them, yet yearns to rise above his monstrous actions. Nahlgaaf is a man who is utterly obsessed, who will use Kjalek’s crimes to justify any action, any decision. Nahlgaaf is meant to be someone whose hatred has twisted him into someone no better than, and perhaps worse than, the man he reviles. The failed Hunt RP, which was intended to be the climactic end of Nahlgaaf and Kjalek’s struggle, was supposed to push the limits of what Nahlgaaf was willing to do, and what my fellow RPers were willing to let him do. Nahlgaaf as a character was fairly powerful. He was skilled enough with his sword to be dangerous, and his application of pyromancy was very powerful and very common. He often used the thu’um in combat, most commonly whirlwind sprint. This allowed him to reposition rapidly and to often lethal effect. His thu’um had drawbacks, however. The force of the Voice tore at his damaged and fragile throat, and using the thu’um began to leave him in coughing fits. He often began to cough up blood, which would trickle out from beneath his mask. While it never reached this point in any RPs he has been in, Nahlgaaf would eventually have collapsed mid-battle, struggling to breath and drowning in blood. Whenever there was idle time and a nearby fire, I would have Nahlgaaf sitting in the shadows gazing into it. I don’t really have concrete reason why, I just thought it fit the character fairly well. When a fire was not handy, Nahlgaaf would withdraw his countless papers and work on them, writing up new plans, new theories, and drawing new maps. His mind was supposed to be endlessly busy, obsessed with one goal and constantly working towards it. If anyone had ever looked over his shoulder, there would have been an excess of foreshadowing of the Hunt’s plot. Other: * Nahlgaaf’s name is in the dragon tongue. Nahl=life and Gaaf=ghost. His name approximates to “Living Ghost”, which is descriptive of his character * Nahlgaaf’s race has always been listed as “nord?”. This is due to his mask and extensive scarring making it difficult to discern his origins. He is also short and quite slender for a nord, casting some doubts on the accuracy of “nord?”. * Nahlgaaf’s youth is not apparent, as his ruined voice, tortured flesh, clothes, and mask make his age near impossible to judge. * I initially thought of making Nahlgaaf some form of undead, as I never had him eat anything. Eventually I realized what a stupid idea that was, and let him have a snack from time to time * Nahlgaaf’s “beautiful auburn hair” and “green eyes flecked with gold” were used as they are phrases commonly associated with attractive women, and making them features of a horrendously scarred monstrosity seemed like an amusing subversion of literary norms. * Nahlgaaf died somewhere around his forties or fifties, as being burned to a crisp and his constant use of the thu’um cut his lifespan significantly. * Nahlgaaf’s skin is very soft and fragile, and I’ve considered it to be about as easily torn as tissue paper. * Nahlgaaf will never reappear unless I attempt a Hunt reboot. His story is over. So what do you think of Nahlgaaf? Did he deserve his relatively happy ending? Do his subsequent actions make his deserving of his fate in fire? As before, feel free to share any thoughts on the character, opinions on his development, suggestions to improve Character Profiles, and anything else fairly on topic. Category:Blog posts